Weightlifting ant is photo contest winner

The image shows an Asian weaver ant hanging upside down on a glass-like surface and holding a 500mg (0.02oz) weight in its jaws.

It was taken by zoology specialist Dr Thomas Endlein of Cambridge University as he researched insects’ sticky feet…The research shows how ants change the size and shape of the pads on their feet to enable them to carry heavier loads…

“The pads on ants’ feet are self-cleaning and can stick to almost any type of surface,” he said.

“No man-made glue or adhesive system can match this. Understanding how animals can control their adhesive systems should help us come up with clever adhesives in the future.”

That’s as bad as a line from National Lampoon (or was it Mad Magazine?) in the ’70s, which went “If you lined up all of the Chinese, they would go around the world three times, if you could get them to walk that far.”